Manners & Customs
After learning about where the Romans lived and what hobbies they enjoyed, you might be wondering what roles the men, women, and children played in ancient Rome. Keep reading to learn about what you, your friends, and your family would have been expected to do in ancient Rome....
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Equality as we know it was practically unknown the Romans. Women were treated as inferiors, the slave trade was booming, and, as one person put it, Rome was a great civilization for the few built on the backs of many. In any event, Roman society held different rules for different demographics, such as those below....
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When did they get married? Both parties had to be adults, and they could not marry more than one person at a time. For the first 500 years in Rome, divorce was unknown. So, a great deal of care was taken selecting a marriage partner. Probably the groom had to be at least 14 years old, and the bride had to be at least 12 years old. The bride and gro...
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Entertainment was essential to daily life in Ancient Rome. As noted by Juvenal, it seemed that all Romans were interested in was "bread and circuses." And with theaters, amphitheaters, circuses, and public baths galore, the Romans never seemed to get bored....
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The expression "you are what you eat" could not have been more true than at Ancient Rome. While plebeians sustained themselves on cereals and bread, members of the senatorial class dined on exotic foods from far away lands and enjoyed three course meals over luxurious dinners. Wine, anyone?...
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IN EARLY TIMES, under the Kingdom and the Republic: (600 BCE to about 1c CE) Before the Imperial Age, in very early Roman times, a typical Roman family included unmarried children, married sons and their families, other relatives, and family slaves....
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The lower class Romans (plebeians) lived in apartment houses, called flats, above or behind their shops. Even fairly well-to-do tradesmen might chose to live in an apartment-building compound over their store, with maybe renters on the upper stories. Their own apartments might be quite roomy, sanitary and pleasant, occasionally with running water. ...
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CLOTHING & HAIR STYLES: The very early Romans wore a toga. It looked like a white sheet 9 yards long. Togas were arranged very carefully, in a stylish way. Togas fell out of style rather early. (The toga was inconvenient, and people felt the cold when they wore it.) To get anyone to wear them, even very early emperors had to legislate the weari...
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Rome as a Kingdom: In early Roman days, kids did not go to school. A Roman boy's education took place at home. If his father could read and write, he taught his son to do the same. The father instructed his sons in Roman law, history, customs, and physical training, to prepare for war. Reverence for the gods, respect for law, obedience to authority...
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Women were not citizens of Rome. Only adult free men were citizens. The ancient Roman men believed that a women had to be under a guardianship. That guardianship could be a father or a husband. But they believed a women was unable to direct her own activities. As Cicero once said of early Roman men, 'Our ancestors, in their wisdom, considered that ...
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